eTail Palm Springs 2025
February 24 - 27, 2025
JW Marriott Desert Springs, Palm Springs, CA
Transform SEARCH Summit
February 24, 2020
Focusing On Optimizing Paid Search, SEO, Performance Marketing Best Practices
This Retailer Only summit focuses entirely on SEO, SEM and performance marketing best practices. Move the needle with creative strategies that will increase acquisition and conversion rates. We’ll only talk search and acquisition during this day, so you leave with not only tons of notes, but tangible ways to solve your challenges. As a bonus we have roundtables designed to get you talking with your peers.
7:50 am - 8:20 am
Networking Breakfast & Registration
Time to fuel up for a great day of in-depth learning on how to continue to optimize your SEO and SEM strategies.
8:20 am - 8:30 am
Welcome Remarks
8:30 am - 8:55 am
Keynote: The Lands' End SEM Journey: 2018 to 2020 Success
Jean-Marx Mantilla -
Digital Marketing Director,
Lands' End
Jean-Marx Mantilla will walk you through their award winning SEM program that led to a 33% increase in new customers. He will walk you through the ins and outs of this new program and the tools they used to acquire new customers.
8:55 am - 9:10 am
Chairperson’s Opening Remarks
Rahmon Coupe -
CEO,
YourAnswer
9:10 am - 9:40 am
Keynote Panel Discussion: Making The Most Of Your Paid Search Budget
Cecilia Jamieson -
Consumer Acquisition Manager,
New Balance Athletics Inc.
Tatjana Kudla -
Sr. Director, Marketing,
Legal Zoom
A diverse group of retailers, from apparel and sporting goods to legal services will walk through their SEM strategy and the tools they find most helpful and also what has been less effective so that you can plan out your 2020 search budget and see measurable results. Review ideas for:
- Adjusting to responsive search strategies
- Shifting towards Expanded Text Ads to convey their messages to potential customers
- Readying retailers for automated bidding strategies
- Keeping on top of cross-device reporting and re-marketing in Google Analytics
9:35 am - 9:50 am
Roundtable Host Introductions
Hear quick intros from your roundtable hosts and get ready to take a deep dive into the latest challenges related to search and acquisition marketing.
9:50 am - 10:40 am
Interactive Roundtables
John Palek -
Director of Customer Engagement,
YourAnswer
Lori Harmon -
Sr. Director, IT Operations,
Ashley Stewart
Jason Roussos -
SVP, Strategy,
Adlucent
Mike Carmody -
VP, Marketing,
Saatva
Udayan Bose -
Founder & CEO,
NetElixir
Chris Turner -
Senior Manager, SEM,
Teleflora
Justin Smith -
VP, Strategic Accounts,
Sidecar
Bryan Benavides -
Director, Digital Marketing,
Abt
Liam Patterson -
CEO,
Bidnamic
Sunil Gowda -
CEO,
Garmentory
Get your search challenges solved by expert roundtable moderators from marketing visionaries. 2 rounds, 25 minutes each.
Table 1: Voice-Enabled Websites Drive Higher Mobile Conversion Rates
Moderator: John Palek, Director of Customer Engagement, YourAnswer
Retail Moderator: Lori Harmon, Sr. Director of IT Operations, Ashley Stewart
Table 2: Leveraging Attribution Best Practices to Calculate Real Return on Your Search Investments
Moderator: Jason Roussos, SVP, Strategy, Adlucent
Retail Moderator: Mike Carmody, VP Marketing, Saatva
Table 3: Five Search Marketing Tactics Every Retailer Should Adopt to Win in the Changing Landscape
Moderator: Udayan Bose, Founder & CEO, Netelixir
Retail Moderator: Chris Turner, Director, Search Marketing, Teleflora
Table 4: Google Paid Search & Its New Role in the Shopping Journey
Moderator: Justin Smith, VP, Strategic Accounts, Sidecar
Retail Moderator: Bryan Benavides, Director of Digital Marketing, Abt Electronics
Table 5: Why Google Shopping Doesn't Work For Many Retailers
Moderator: Liam Patterson, CEO, Bidnamic
Retail Moderator: Sunil Gowda, CEO, Gamentory
10:40 am - 11:10 am
Morning Coffee & Refreshments
Your mind is buzzing with ideas so grab some coffee and keep it going!
11:10 am - 11:40 am
Keynote Panel Discussion Remix: Evaluating Customer Search Behavior Today: Are You On Track?
Courtney Messerli -
Director, eCommerce & Search,
goop
Eric Wu -
Former Head of Product & Growth,
BloomNation
Matt Storms -
Growth Marketing & SEO Expert,
Mattstorms.com
Clint Borrill -
Sr. SEO Manager,
Balsam Brands
Regardless of whether a customer knows what they are looking for or not, their eCommerce journey frequently starts with a search engine. Which search engine are they using? What do their browsing habits look like and how can you better understand their path to purchase? Search experts from goop, Bloomnation, Balsam Brands, Netelixir and SEO expert Matt Storms will discuss ideas for:
- Determining what search technology is working today to effectively track customers’ search and browse behavior
- Understanding that shoppers are in control of their path to purchase (and they are exploring through multiple channels at the same time)
- Assessing customer language so search campaigns are targeted and tested
- Revamping your search parameters to support the customer journey and providing a compelling shopping experience that encourages them to buy
11:40 am - 12:55 pm
Interactive Roundtables
John Palek -
Director of Customer Engagement,
YourAnswer
Jason Roussos -
SVP, Strategy,
Adlucent
Lori Harmon -
Sr. Director, IT Operations,
Ashley Stewart
Mike Carmody -
VP, Marketing,
Saatva
Udayan Bose -
Founder & CEO,
NetElixir
Chris Turner -
Senior Manager, SEM,
Teleflora
Justin Smith -
VP, Strategic Accounts,
Sidecar
Bryan Benavides -
Director, Digital Marketing,
Abt
Liam Patterson -
CEO,
Bidnamic
Sunil Gowda -
CEO,
Garmentory
Get your search challenges solved by expert roundtable moderators from marketing visionaries. 2 rounds, 25 minutes each.
Table 1: Voice-Enabled Websites Drive Higher Mobile Conversion Rates
Moderator: John Palek, Director of Customer Engagement, YourAnswer
Retail Moderator: Lori Harmon, Sr. Director of IT Operations, Ashley Stewart
Table 2: Leveraging Attribution Best Practices to Calculate Real Return on Your Search Investments
Moderator: Jason Roussos, SVP, Strategy, Adlucent
Retail Moderator: Mike Carmody, VP Marketing, Saatva
Table 3: Five Search Marketing Tactics Every Retailer Should Adopt to Win in the Changing Landscape
Moderator: Udayan Bose, Founder & CEO, Netelixir
Retail Moderator: Chris Turner, Director, Search Marketing, Teleflora
Table 4: Google Paid Search & Its New Role in the Shopping Journey
Moderator: Justin Smith, VP, Strategic Accounts, Sidecar
Retail Moderator: Bryan Benavides, Director of Digital Marketing, Abt Electronics
Table 5: Why Google Shopping Doesn't Work For Many Retailers
Moderator: Liam Patterson, CEO, Bidnamic
Retail Moderator: Sunil Gowda, CEO, Gamentory
12:55 pm - 1:55 pm
Lunch & Networking
1:55 pm - 2:10 pm
eTail Best In Class Award For Search Engine Optimizer
Diane Langston -
Director, Information Technology Product Management,
Dell
2:10 pm - 2:35 pm
Fireside Chat: The Battle Of Search Marketing Dollars: Google Vs. Amazon
Maia Haag -
Co-Founder & President,
I See Me! Inc
Ryan Guldberg -
Director, eCommerce Marketing,
I See Me!
Consumer search behavior is changing rapidly with Amazon becoming a pseudo search engine. How is search behavior changing, and how has Amazon’s dominance impacting your search spend? This session will take a deep dive into the battle of the behemoths – Amazon v. Google.
- The shopper journey funnel difference between Google and Amazon: where are higher conversion points?
- Tracking traffic: lead the customer to brand site via Google or directly convert on Amazon
- Understanding if there are there different kinds of searchers on the different platforms
- Google ads vs. Amazon ads: how to differentiate besides just price
2:35 pm - 3:00 pm
Keynote: Evolving For Success: The Human Side Of Performance Marketing
Jeff Burchett -
VP, Creative,
Custom Ink
Over the last decade, the changes to performance marketing—especially for eCommerce companies—have been immense and heavily driven by technology. Teams are strengthened by powerful tools that allow them to achieve new levels of surety, attribution, and ultimately performance than ever before. However, not everyone on the team has access to the tools, background, or even the inclination to become a performance marketer. So how, then, do you transform a whole team, not just their marketing stack, to embrace and achieve new levels of marketing performance? This keynote discussion will address:
- How Custom Ink has embraced performance marketing as a cultural norm
Focus on performance beyond channels
Reframing the conversation about what constitutes good work
Reframing performance, testing, etc., as fundamentally creative endeavors in need of creative solutions
- How Custom Ink has focused on business acumen
- Radical transparency into performance pushed deep down into teams
- Regular conversations with teams and individuals about business performance, channel performance
- Ongoing, formalized training for all to significantly deepen business and financial knowledge
- How Custom Ink works to manage teams through change
- Taking the team’s pulse quarterly
- HPT and the culture of radical candor
- Success is the biggest motivator for accepting change
3:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Conclusion Of the Transform Search Summit
4:15 pm - 5:00 pm
Cocktails & Conversations (Retailer-Only): Connect With Retail Peers From Similar Sized Organizations
Martin Gendron -
President - General Manager,
blackcircles.ca
Gabriela Cruz -
Sr. Manager, Digital Marketing,
Bliss
Sue Cho -
Head of Lifecycle Marketing,
Calm
Jean-Marx Mantilla -
Digital Marketing Director,
Lands' End
Relax with a cocktail and chat with other retailers in your vertical who share your pain points. You’ll meet the peers who can give you tons of advice and technology recommendations.
1. 0-25 Million in online revenues
Hosted By: Martin Gendron, President, blackcircles.ca
2. 25 – 100 Million in online revenues
Hosted By: Gabriela Cruz, Senior Manager, Digital Marketing, Bliss
3. 100 – 500 Million in online revenues
Hosted By: Sue Cho, Head of Lifecycle Marketing, Calm
4. 500 Million+ in online revenues
Hosted By: Jean-Marx Mantilla, Digital Marketing Director, Lands’ End
5:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Conclusion Of Cocktails & Conversations
5:00 pm - 6:15 pm
eTail Seize The Seasons Receptions!
Pick one of four parties to join!
1. APRES SKI - Costas Nightclub
No skiing experience required to enjoy this apres hot spot. Warm up at Costas Nightclub!
2. SPRING CHERRY BLOSSOMS - Mikado Restaurant
Spring is nature’s way of saying let’s party! Head on over to Mikado Restaurant for refreshing cocktails and apps.
3. SUMMER SOLSTICE - The Pointe
Put a little sizzle in your step at the Pointe and enjoy all things summer!
4. FALL OKTOBERFEST - Rockwood Grill
No worries, you can leave your dirndl and lederhosen at home and just enjoy a nice bier by the fire at the Rockwood Grill!